Your Spiritual Harness

“THE LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want; he makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters; he restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil; for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of my enemies; thou anointest my head with oil, my cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.” Psalms 23

Our daughter just walked by me with her new puppy in a harness. The frisky creature is “learning” to walk in a harness (sort of). She walks slowly, in one direction…all is well. Her focus is typically horizontal so she doesn’t see her guide on the other end of the lease. Our daughter keeps the lease loose. The puppy spurts to the side, the lease tightens, the puppy is saved from crashing into something. The cat approaches to learn her new sister: all is not completely well in these early stages, even though the puppy ignorantly lunges forward , her master gently pulls her back from danger….

You and I are on a great climb. The obstacle is high…the stakes are higher.

We took our spiritual puppy steps when we first accepted Christ as our Lord and Savior: “Lord” as we agreed to let Him control us; “Savior” as we finally understood He and only He gives life it’s meaning (here and hereafter). We willingly and wisely stepped into our spiritual harness.

Our initial steps were easy. We didn’t stray far at first. When we did get to the end of the perimeters, we got there gently and the tug was gentle. The longer we’re in the faith relationship, we are capable of becoming spiritually lethargic, we drop our guard, and we slip. The higher we climb spiritually, the greater the fall. We error. We’re caught off-guard and make a selfish decision, make a self-centered/ego-centered statement, our pride instead of humility dominates, our anger in stead of God’s Patience takes over: we fall. The greater the fall the more vigorous the pull-back from our Master. The tug sometimes hurts…and can be embarrassing. We acknowledge our stupidity and sincerely confess: truly intending to continue the climb. We do. But it happens again. After so many times, over so many years, the very “straying-confessing-refocusing cycle” causes us to appreciate God’s unending Patience, Love and Forgiveness (Grace).

And though you can’t see your Master, you know He is their. You know He is directing you. You know the path he is leading you is safe and in your best interest. Continue…

“Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.”

Blessing Always In All Ways,

Steve
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God is There…

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, says the Lord.” Is. 55:8 “All the paths of the Lord are steadfast love and faithfulness, for those who keep his covenant and his testimonies.” Ps. 25:10

It’s really annoying. You know, when you walk through a mall food court and you’re bombarded by people from your left and right approaching you with a plate of their restaurant’s food forcing a sample in your face This week I was darting through a food court to do a Taco Bell unit evaluation, had no time for distractions, and saw one of them…she was about 30 ft in front of me and the crowd had me pinned into a direct path toward her. I increased my pace as well as angled myself trying to get a few steps ahead of her. She was fast. There she was in my face. In an attempt not to loose time, I took the initiative looking her directly in the face firmly saying, “No thank you.” She thought I was nuts. It became obvious she was a customer simply trying to make her way to a nearby table! Oooooops! Things aren’t always as they appear. Our interpretation on “the obvious” is often way off target. Below is a story my wife recently shared with me that speaks to our spiritual life…

Two traveling angels stopped to spend the night in the home of a wealthy family. The family was rude and refused to let the angels stay in the mansion's guest room. Instead the angels were given a small space in the cold basement. As they made their bed on the hard floor, the older angel saw a hole in the wall and repaired it. When the younger angel asked why, the older angel replied, "Things aren't always what they seem."

The next night the pair came to rest at the house of a very poor, but very hospitable farmer and his wife. After sharing what little food they had the couple let the angels sleep in their bed where they could have a good night's rest. When the sun came up the next morning the angels found the farmer and his wife in tears. Their only cow, whose milk had been their sole income, lay dead in the field. The younger angel was infuriated and asked the older angel how could you have let this happen? The first man had everything, yet you helped him, she accused. The second family had little but was willing to share everything, and you let the cow die.

"Things aren't always what they seem," the older angel replied.

"When we stayed in the basement of the mansion, I noticed there was gold stored in that hole in the wall. Since the owner was so obsessed with greed and unwilling to share his good fortune, I sealed the wall so he wouldn't find it. Then last night as we slept in the farmer’s bed, the angel of death came for his wife. I gave him the cow instead.

Things aren't always what they seem."

Sometimes that is exactly what happens when things don't turn out the way they should. If you have faith, you just need to trust that every outcome is always to your advantage. You just might not know it until some time later.

Blessing Always In All Ways,

Steve
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Faith and Works

“For by grace you have been saved through faith; this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God.” Ephesians 2:8

“…faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead.” James 2:17

I won’t make a series of the Labor Day concept, but I was led to a spin-off of yesterday’s Bread and would like to share that with you…

I once heard a theologian say, ”Christ did everything, but we have to do something.” His point: that God did His part by sacrificing Himself completely through Jesus on the Cross for us. Our part is to carry on with that commitment of Love by expressing it SOME way….

Write a letter.

Call a lonely friend or relative.

Forgive someone who has wronged you---out loud, directly to them.

Confess.

Volunteer.

Take food to a hungry person.

Contribute money to a needy individual or an organization that helps the needy.

Teach someone a Christ-centered fact.

“…faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead.”

Blessing Always In All Ways,

Steve
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Your Lord & Your Labor

“Six days you shall labor, and do all your work.” Deuteronomy 5:13

“Whatever your task, work heartily, as serving the Lord and not men,…” Colossians 3:23

Since the time of Adam labor has been part of God’s strategy for our lives. We’ve been programmed to need one day of rest for six days of labor. I can’t speak for you, but I’ve found in my own life this is so true. Certainly, we can work more than six days straight, but I’ve found there’s a “point of diminishing returns” when I do. I may work longer, but the results actually decrease. When I attack my work God’s way, everybody wins. When I do it my way, the results are poorer.

When Labor Day was created in 1882 it was in the midst of the Industrial Revolution in protest to the unreasonable labor demands being placed on the working class. It was first honored on Tuesday, September 5, 1882 in New York City. In 1884 the Central Labor Union identified the first Monday in September as the designated day to focus our thoughts on what our labor is all about and the right way to go about it. Nine years later, Congress voted to make it a legal holiday in the District of Columbia and eventually every state followed suit. It’s clear, everyone who has thought it through agrees: it’s important to take our labor seriously, for Christians there’s more than one reason….

If you are a Christian, you’ve come to appreciate the great personal benefits of an ongoing relationship with the Living Lord. True Christians can’t keep their excitement to themselves (when we find a treasure, we’re excited and what to tell people!). Unfortunately, often when we share it, the unbeliever, or skeptic, isn’t interested. How can we get their attention? By speaking their own language and gaining their respect. Demonstrating an impressive work record gets a lot of people’s attention. Once we’ve earned an open relationship with others through our works, we can begin to briefly share how our relationship with Christ helps us in our work. That leads to opportunities to share more in-depth witnessing. That can lead to inviting your co-working non-believer to church with you. I can’t count how many times over the years the Lord has led non-believers to Christ through me by first earning their respect in our mutual work assignments. Or, sometimes, it’s a matter of discovering that a coworker is a fellow believer and through our work our spiritual relationship emerges: a brotherly/sisterly bond explodes, and work becomes exciting! The specific work we are doing is irrelevant: the point is, doing it for the right purpose….

“Whatever your task, work heartily, as serving the Lord and not men,…” Colossians 3:23

Blessing Always In All Ways,

Steve
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